Bubinga to Caribbean rosewood?

[crawlspacestefan]

When did the change take place? I've got a April 2011 4003, but the fret board doesn't look much like those in the photos.

[RIC_FACTORY]

Started in early September.

FWIW, I bet I could show you pieces of bubinga that look nothing like the bubinga on your fretboard either!

[crawlspacestefan]

Interesting!

Kind of fun to have one from the last little bit before the change (Although, there were probably way more made between April and September than I can even imagine).

Thanks!

[RIC_FACTORY]

Yeah, you probably have one of the last few hundred 4003's with a bubinga fretboard.

[wim]

I'm not judging your decision, just saying what I said. It 'd be nice if things like this were announced somehow. For the people who do care about ricks.

You mean, like, the customers that have actually purchased guitars over the past four months and have no problem with it? Answer me this, why is it that the people that don't actually own one of these guitars are the ones put off by it? Kind of ironic, huh?

Where did I say I was put off by it???

I'd notice the difference for sure, if there was one to be seen at all over here, I dind't see the video either.
And okay, it's not a big deal after all, on a run of the mill guitar.

Sure you would have...

Yes I would.
It IS possible that in a range of 7000000000 people more than one person knows something about wood.
The picture on page three looks nothing AT ALL like bubinga, not even from a mile away.

This reminds me of the story in one of the RIC books about slanted fret guitars being sent out to people who didn't order that, and getting no response to it.

So you're comparing something like slanted frets, that would be completely obvious on first sight, to a wood nobody recognized until it came up in a thread four months after it went into production? I repeat, where do we spec bubinga on our website? Nice lob at our customer service by the way, way to cite an example from how many years ago?

Where did I make a comparison?

First of all I couldn't imagine not noticing that and second I couldn't imagine not caring for that either when I spent $1000 plus on a guitar.
I can imagine that in the pre hyper-infomation era people thought their model actually was like that.
Kinda "my bad, rickenbackers are weird/unplayable (pick one), and now back in it's case and under the bed"

I repeat: You mean, like, the customers that have actually purchased guitars over the past four months and have no problem with it? Answer me this, why is it that the people that don't actually own one of these guitars are the ones put off by it? Kind of ironic, huh?

Where did I say I was put off by it???

Clint made a great point: The bubinga was also all over the map regarding coloring, just like this wood. Sometimes we got bubinga in that was browner than normal, sometimes it was very orange. This is wood, an organic material from a tree, not a cookie-cutter plastic material. Some of the CR looks more like bubinga than actual bubinga.

That last sentence is quite a bold statement

#1 How much bubinga have you actually looked at in our factory?
#2 How much Caribbean Rosewood have you actually looked at in our factory?

none, and by now I'm beginning to think this is 'issue' didn't start on this forum but has a history

well it says rosewood, which covers a lot for sure!

Now you're catching on!

better would be "Wood (if available)"

Now seriously, I'm feeling that even slight critisicm on this is not being taken too well,
and as I respect other people's business decisions, nor do I wish to intervene into that process,
I'll not post in this thread anymore.

[RIC_FACTORY]

Where did I say I was put off by it???

Oh, so now you DON'T mind it? I thought you were saying that you would have been disappointed if you had ordered a Rick and got a rosewood fretboard?

Yes I would.
It IS possible that in a range of 7000000000 people more than one person knows something about wood.
The picture on page three looks nothing AT ALL like bubinga, not even from a mile away.

I could show you bubinga, and in your infinite wisdom you would have no clue it was bubinga unless I told you. Plus, I'm sure you have seen at least a few guitars somewhere online built recently that had CR, but you didn't notice.

Where did I make a comparison?

If it is not a comparison, then why did you bring up a completely irrelevant issue to Caribbean Rosewood? Why would you be citing something from a book that happened decades ago? I don't get it.

none, and by now I'm beginning to think this is 'issue' didn't start on this forum but has a history

I doubt I'm the only one that would love to hear you elaborate on that...

better would be "Wood (if available)"

Nah, 'cause then you'll complain when it comes from the wrong tree in the wrong ecosystem at the wrong longitude and latitude on the wrong planet from the wrong star system

Now seriously, I'm feeling that even slight critisicm on this is not being taken too well,
and as I respect other people's business decisions, nor do I wish to intervene into that process,
I'll not post in this thread anymore.

Intervene? Did you think you were going to convince us to stop with the CR? You saw what happened to Gibson!

[Matt Clark]

All I am saying is that if I ordered a guitar with a fingerboard that looked like the 330 on the RIC website and I got this with out previous knowledge, I might return it as it looks cheap and cheesy to me.


I don't care how many other people didn't complain or "notice," I would and I wouldn't like it. That's the point of this thread, what I think, and if anyone agreed with me--it's disturbing to me.

I've never seen a RIC, since I've looked for them starting in the late 70s, with anything even close to this type of neck, that wasn't modified after the fact. No matter how much wood you were to show me, and I guessing it would be much.

[RIC_FACTORY]

All I am saying is that if I ordered a guitar with a fingerboard that looked like the 330 on the RIC website and I got this with out previous knowledge, I might return it as it looks cheap and cheesy to me.


I don't care how many other people didn't complain or "notice," I would and I wouldn't like it. That's the point of this thread, what I think, and if anyone agreed with me--it's disturbing to me.

I've never seen a RIC, since I've looked for them starting in the late 70s, with anything even close to this type of neck, that wasn't modified after the fact. No matter how much wood you were to show me, and I guessing it would be much.

Cool, then return it so that someone else can enjoy it!

[jingle_jangle]

Those two photos are opposite ends of the spectrum, in more than one way!

Upper photo: catalog shot, ideal conditions, color-corrected and enhanced, retouched.

Lower photo: taken in the tunnels of San Ysidro with existing "meat locker" non-color-corrected cool white fluorescent lighting and cheapo camera set for 4700K white balance...

If I got any guitar and the fretboard looked like that, I'd be on the lookout for a pig with a diseased liver that had been removed...

[Grey]

[RIC_FACTORY]

If I got any guitar and the fretboard looked like that, I'd be on the lookout for a pig with a diseased liver that had been removed...

Joey, I think that's Paul's way of saying that he hopes someone left a new camera under the old Christmas tree!

[wim]

colour adjusted by PS

[rickenbrother]

Please do not take photos from the RIC website to post here.

Erik, I agree with you.

If I got any guitar and the fretboard looked like that, I'd be on the lookout for a pig with a diseased liver that had been removed...

Joey, I think that's Paul's way of saying that he hopes someone left a new camera under the old Christmas tree!

[jingle_jangle]

Still doesn't make it for me, as their algorithm is not very good and depends upon the color content of the entire photo frame, rather than just the area you wish. You have to go into Layers and even then it won't represent what our computers (different for all monitors) and eyes actually see...

BTW, it's grain as well as color, and I've got several older Ricks (late 1990s) with fretboards close to that "color-corrected" photo. The non-corrected TJ photo looks more like olivewood to me.

[RIC_FACTORY]

You'll see it in real life soon enough, Paul.